The seven truths of innovation for Lego

As a child I loved Lego. But I had none. Back then it was prohibitively expensive.

So I watched the shiny bricks and structures through the shopwindow. I actually doubted kids played with them, i thought nobody can afford them.

Funny enough Lego indeed got in trouble – but it had nothing to do with my post-communist low-income motherland. Instead in the late 90s kids were no longer fascinated with their products – it was the time of video games and a new wave of electronic toys.

This meant that Lego had to reinvent itself. So the iconic toy company rolled its sleeves to define a unique formula for creating new products and services.

David Robertson put it altogether in his book “Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry”. He summarized the seven truths of Lego innovation as follows:

“Hire diverse and creative people.”

“Head for blue-ocean markets.”

“Be customer driven.”

“Practice disruptive innovation.”

“Foster open innovation – heed the wisdom of the crowd.”

“Explore the full spectrum of innovation.”

“Build an innovation culture.”

Nothing more to say, just let it sink. And for those who want to read the book, here is the full story.